Deported

I was deported on Wednesday and was sooo happy. Yep, that means my port came out. It's another milestone to being done. It came out in the same place they cut me open to get it in. I think I told 3 different people (2 nurses and the doctor) to make sure when they sew me up to sew it up nice and tight so the scar is minimal. They assured me they would. I haven't seen it yet as it's still bandaged up but am hoping for a good stitch job.

They let me keep my port as a souvenir and thought you would all want to see what it looks like, so here it is.



The middle part of it is soft like a pin cushion and that is where they would poke through my skin into that and then the chemo drugs would go through the white tube into my veins, pretty interesting if I do say so myself. They are also able to draw blood from there as well. It's made of some type of metal and so it was heavier then I thought it would be. No wonder I was in so much pain when it went in.

Overall the surgery went really smoothly and recovery has been MUCH easier this time around. Thanks Mom for taking me and waiting around for all the hospital 'stuff' to get done!

Bye Bye to Chemo!!

I am officially done with all Chemo. I am sooo excited to be done with this phase. I can't believe this day is finally here. My sister Christy, who is visiting from California, came with me. She brought me balloons to congratulate me on being done. She has a daughter that just finished a 2 1/2 year treatment for Leukemia so you would think she would be the last one that wanted to step foot into another cancer clinic but she did, and she was actually excited about it.



There was a lady there whose husband was just starting chemo for the first time that day. I felt bad that he was just starting because I remember meeting someone my first day that was just finishing and I never thought I would never finish...but here I am, done!

The nurses there gave me a bottle of sparkling cider to congratulate me. I finally took some pictures at the clinic. I had never taken any pictures of me at the clinic so I finally brought my camera along to document it.



The other good news is, I get my port out tomorrow. So soon, but they wanted it to quickly so I would have 2 weeks of healing before they started my radiation. So tomorrow is the port removal. Hopefully it's not as painful as it was going in.

Then in 2 weeks, on Aug. 12, I meet with my radiation doctor to get all ready for that and then radiation should start just a few days after that. They are still estimating 3 weeks but I will know more when I meet with them.

I'll update in a few days and let everyone know how the port removal went. Until then, I am just enjoying the last of the chemo side effects. Ok, enjoying is a little strong but knowing once they go away they aren't coming back makes me feel soooo good.

So BYE BYE to Chemo!!!!!!!!!!!!

#11 feels one step away from Heaven (figuratively only of course!!)

It feels sooo great to know I only have to have one more chemo! #11 went fine. My sister, Michelle, came with me this time and was nice enough/brave enough to leave her one month old behind for the afternoon to come with me. Hopefully it was a nice break for her and got her out of the house while my parents watched all 3 of her kids. Thanks Michelle for coming and mom AND Dad for watching the kids. It was fun to sit and talk like always. One other thing I don't think I have ever mentioned is that I have a cousin my age that is the manager of the lab dept. at the clinic and every chemo I have had he comes in and sits down and talks to us for a while. It's always nice to see his familiar face at each of my appts. and has been helpful with some good information from time to time. Thanks Travis for all your support.

Some positive information from this last chemo:

• I get to have my port taken out as soon as my last chemo is done.
• I really don't have to have a neulasta shot next time
  (so today will be my last neulasta shot. I told my doctor that I was so happy to hear that news that I am almost happier about that then being done with chemo!)
• I will meet with the radiation doctor on Aug. 12 for my consultation and will start very soon after that. They are still saying about 3 weeks of radiation.
  
• After radiation finishes I will meet with my doctor every 3 months and get a PET/CT Scan every 6 months for at least a couple years to make sure this all stays away!

So while I have some insomnia (due to some steroids they give me), a little nausea, and a nasty taste in my mouth right now, all in all I don't really care because I only have to do this one more time!!!!

Double Digits, #10 is Done!

That's right, I am in double digits. I really never thought I would see the day I hit double digits in chemo's. After #3, I thought it might be an eternity before I got to the end, but here I am. I am still on cloud 9 with my cancer free news and the light at the end of the tunnel is helping me get through the rest of it.

Chemo went on right as scheduled. My sister Lori came with me this time. My mom volunteered to watch my sister's kids for her and for my other sisters so they can each take a turn coming with me. I think everyone is a little curious what this is all about. So we had a good time talking and telling stories.

The best news of the day is that most likely I will not have to get my nasty Neulasta shot on my last treatment. That will be the best present ever. Not only to be done with Chemo but not have to put up with the side effects of Neulasta will be a little (ok a lot) of an extra treat for me.

Thanks for everyone's comments, phone calls and emails of congratulations. It's been fun to read them all and celebrate the great news with you.

I'm Cancer FREE!!!

I got GREAT news today from my doctor. My PET Scan results came back normal! All the cancer is gone! I was a little anxious going to the clinic today to find out. Even though I felt really good that the results were going to come back normal, I was still preparing myself for the worst just in case.

So, I had treatment #8 today and will have to have 3 more treatments of Chemo (just to make sure what is gone stays gone!) Then I will get a break for a few weeks and then most likely will need about 3 weeks of radiation. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Although treatments are never fun, for some reason I think they might be a little easier now that I can see the end in sight.

Shane came with me to my appointment this time for great support. When the doctor left the room after sharing the great news I burst into tears. Shane looked kind of confused until I was able to explain that they were finally tears of joy!!

Thank you all for your prayers, prayers really are answered!

3 Additions to our family!

Within 8 days, Shane and I have had 3 additions to our families. We are excited to welcome them ALL into our family!!

Shane’s brother and his wife had a baby girl last week.

My brother Jeff married the cutest girl, Whitney. We are excited to have another sister and she really does fit in great with all of us. And...for those that haven’t seen me in my wig, there it is!

And the 3rd family member this week is a little baby boy. My sister, Michelle, had a little baby boy last night.

8 is Great???

Ok so 8 isn’t that great, but hey, having 8 chemo’s done feels like a pretty good accomplishment these days. I thought I would post a little on treatment #8. Everything was fine. There actually isn’t a lot to report, except for the fever update. As you know, I have had a fever the night after my treatment for the last 2 times. They now think it’s a reaction to one of the chemo drugs. So they let me take Aleve this time. So as soon as I got home I took Aleve and low and behold, it worked…no fever!! So it looks like that will be my new thing for the remainder of my treatments, which is great news.

My mom came with me this time. She has been so good to come with me to my appointments. Everyone in my family has been taking turns, but I think this was her 4th time coming with me. Thanks mom, I love you, it’s fun to have you there to talk to through the long process.

The other big news is that next Tuesday, June 10, I have my PET Scan. I had this scan when I was first diagnosed to help stage the cancer. I haven’t had one since and this scan will show how much progress has been made to me becoming cancer free. If the results are good, then I will finish my last 4 treatments of chemo as scheduled. If the results don’t look as good as they hoped by this point then I will need 8 more treatments! Ugh…so I am asking that everyone pray that the results will come back so that I only need to have 4 more treatments. I won’t get the results until my next treatment, June 16 but I will let you all know as soon as I find out.

Thanks for all your prayers, keep them coming!!